174 Comments for Dixie Square Mall

The toys may be from when the mall was used by the Harvey-Dixmoor school district in 1979-1981. There seemed to be a lot of toys scattered about the mall, in different locations, which I speculate, date back to when the mall was used as a temporary school during that time. The Beautiful Things sign was located in what was once Howard's Family Apparel, IIRC from one of Jonrev's videos.

Looking down the B-C corridor (from Wonder Falls Court) toward the old JC Penney entrance (which was portrayed as "Jewel" during the Blues Brothers filming. Walgreens (portrayed as "Toys R Us" in the Blues Brothers was on the left in Block C, just before the JCP entrance.

Tony C. - or the stray dogs that also used to hang out in that place. I live 1000 miles away from Harvey & was never physically able to see this mall, but I've learned a lot from research, mostly from watching Jonrev's YouTube videos, as he chronicled the place many times in the late 2000's before the place was demolished.

"Whoa shiii..." - Trooper La Fong (Director John Landis) in Blues Brothers.

Thom McAnn's was located in Block A, toward Monty Ward's. The marquee eventually collapsed (this was one of the last store marquees to survive in the mall) around 2009-2010.

The false plywood wall seen on the one side of Wonder Falls Court here (I believe this was headed toward the newer, but more cheaply constructed, with inferior building materials, Block D-where Turn Style was located) was used for asbestos abatement.

I believe this was the Wonder Falls Court. The two concrete monoliths, I believe, were supposed to represent some type of sundial. The brackets at the top actually supported a big tarp/canvas that was hung over a kiosk (that, I believe sold some type of artwork). This is where the 2 Illinois State Police cars were doing a bunch of donuts, before heading back down the B-C corridor, back toward "Jewel" (Jewel in the movie was actually housed in the old JC Penney store) & "Toys R Us" (old Walgreens), before Trooper La Fong (played by John Landis) rolled his cruiser, which then slid most of the way down the corridor on its roof & the other cruiser crashed into "Jewel". The real Jewel store was actually still open for business when the movie was filmed, so they had to house a fake "Jewel" in the former JCP store. The real Jewel closed for good a few months after the filming wrapped.

Looks like the old Woolworth store & Harvest House Restaurant, judging by the side walls. These were both located in Block A, near the Wonder Falls Court (the entrance to Woolworth was dressed up as DePasto Oldmobile ("the new Oldsmobiles are in early this year"-Elwood Blues) in the Blues Brothers. Both Woolworth & Harvest House were involved in a massive arson around 2005, which caused the roof to collapse. Woolworth & Harvest House were bulldozed in the late 2000's, leaving the gaping opening shown here.

Those condos look horrible and I bet there is a lot of crime there too just like when the mall was open

The abandoned toys are sad and creepy at the same time. ThiS looks like it could also be at a landfill as there is an assortment of junked items. I bet everything is soggy and moldy.

Help I’m stuck in an abandoned mall. Get me out of here!

This is very creepy. I wouldn’t want to spend much time in there. Abandoned malls are ugly inside and out

Ha, good to see you again!!

"Phragmites" - I didn't know that word before. Thanks for increasing my vocabulary! Too bad I can't use it in casual conversation. It sounds like a combination of "fragments" and "stalagmites." The phragmites bring both beauty and a distraction from the ugliness of the decaying mall.

"The mall looked lovely enough from the ground floor." 8`-) You have always had a unique and minimalist way with words. 8`-)